Police Arrest Herbalist For Allegedly Killing Woman In Kwara

The Kwara state police command have arrested a Herbalist, Femi Emmanuel, over the mysterious death of a mother of two, Tawakalitu Mukaila, who had come to his home in Ila-Odo-owa, in Oke-Ero local government area of the state to seek for spiritual help.

According to the police, Twakalitu, a trader and resident of Ago-Oru area of Omu-Aran, was accosted by Emmanuel while hawking rice and beans inside Omu-Aran market few months ago. There Emmanuel told her she and her family were under a spell and that they needed spiritual cleansing. He narrated with exact precision some past negative incident in the family of the deceased. He told her that her husband, Mukaila, was a driver who hailed from Oke-ode in Kwara state and had been a victim of a ghastly motor accident some four years ago which has rendered him incapacitated making him resort to use of crutches.

Last Thursday March 21st, Emmanuel met with Tawakalitu inside the same market and ordered her to follow him home. She left her goods and followed him in company of her 17-year-old niece,Azeezat.

Speaking about her mysterious death, her husband Mukaila said

“She was the breadwinner of the family, trustworthy and very caring even after my accident left me incapacitated. Her sudden death this way remained a mystery to me. On that fateful day, few months ago Tawa told me about what one Emmanuel, a spiritualist told her some things while hawking inside Omu-Aran market and I told her to ignore such fake antics from the said spiritualist.

“But after then my wife will always complain about the pressure from the same Emmanuel and I cannot stop her from doing her legitimate business which she has been using to feed us, more so I’m not that fit. Not until Thursday March 21, that she disappeared with her niece, Azeezat and we became worried and all efforts to locate her by a search party proved abortive'' he said

Narrating further Mukaila said it was on Sunday morning that Azeezat suddenly appeared looking pale and exhausted and narrated to them what transpired between the deceased and the spiritualist at Ila-Odo-owa.

“Azeezat told us that she and Tawakalitu slept in the house of the spiritualist on Thursday and Friday night and that on Saturday morning he gave Tawakalitu a concoction to drink with pap.

“She said after drinking the concoction Emmanuel gave her (Tawakalitu) a bowl where she vomited some liquid portions which the spiritualist took away. Azeezat said it was after vomiting that Tawakalitu became very weak, exhausted and unconscious and died few minutes later'' he said

According to Mukaila, Azeezat claimed that after Tawakalitu died, Emmanuel bundled her body inside a room, locked them together with a warning that she too would die in the same manner if she dared narrate what had happened to anybody.

“Azeezat told us that it was on Sunday morning, tired and exhausted without food, that she escaped from the house of the spiritualist leaving behind Tawakalitu’s dead body'' he said

Mukaila narrated further that it was Emmanuel; sensing danger after Azeezat had escaped, who now reported the death of Tawakalitu to the palace of the Olota of Odo-Owa, Oba Josuha Adimula, who in turn briefed the Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba Abduraheem Adeoti. He said it was after due consultation between the two monarchs and judging from the enormity of the case at hand that the case was reported to Iloffa police command in Oke-Ero Local Government Area and Emmanuel was promptly arrested.